Rochester Mayor on Accepting Syrian Refugees: 'Turning Our Backs on Them is Very Wrong'

As many politicians continue to grapple with the idea of opening our borders to Syrian refugees, Rochester, N.Y., Mayor Lovely Warren wants the refugees to know that they have a safe haven in her town.

Appearing on HuffPost Live, Warren said that she did not support turning away the fleeing individuals, adding that it went against the ideologies that America was built upon.

“[As] a country that has been founded on freedom, a country that has been founded to embrace that type of sentiment, to turn our backs and say that we’re not…going to support them and we’re going to turn our backs on them, I think that’s very wrong,” she said.

She added that the nation’s thorough vetting process has never failed, and it’s important to continue trusting the system.

“If we can’t point to any situation where we could say that a refugee that was allowed into our community created or committed a terrorist act, why are we taking this stand?” she said. “Why are we going this far and going against what our American beliefs are—that is a country that is built for everyone?”